kept her Bible, which when a resolution is made to abide entirely under priestly rule is almost always returned.

Believe me, papa,' said Nanny, Kate will never be brought under priestly rule. I do think she has reasons of her own for acting as she does; she appears more careless and giddy than I am sure she is; she has more sense than you would suppose, and I know in her heart she dislikes, and often cannot refrain from laughing at her grandmother's bigotry and superstition. Do you know,' she added, her own laughing eyes turning to me with an expression that shewed she rather enjoyed Kate's idea, Kate has got two cats, a mother and daughter-one she calls Papist, the other Protestant; she will not allow poor Papist to touch a bit of meat on a Friday, or a drop of milk on a great fast-day, but Protestant has full liberty all the days of the week; and it is really curious to hear the way in which, while seeming in childish play to address her two cats, she conveys to her grandmother's cat truths which the poor old woman would be enraged at if addressed to herself. But Kate's good humour is so great, her disposition so lively, and her contentment so perfect, that it is absolutely impossible to be angry, and even hard to be grave with her.'

'Well, my love,' said the rector, perhaps you know her better than I do; she certainly was, as a child, a great favourite with me; but I should have preferred a wife for Tennison who had less levity, and more decided Protestant principles than your foster-sister manifests at present. I say nothing of Christian principle, for I fear he is not in this respect decided himself; but the intermarriages of Protes

tants and Romanists form the abundant source of domestic misery and irreligion. However, as he has gone so far, it would be neither my duty, nor is it my desire, to interfere to prevent the step; I only wish that all were, at least, as acquiescent in it. They have been long and intimately acquainted, and so far as temporal unhappiness is concerned, I believe they would both suffer deeply were their prospects changed.'

I suppose the grandmother is not well pleased?' I remarked.

'Why, John is such "a good match," said the rector, smiling, that mercenary considerations would probably overcome all others in the old woman's mind if she were left to herself; but she is instigated, I suspect, by two very bad characters in this place, to oppose and annoy him in every way, so that nothing but the most patient and determined conduct on his part could have carried on the affair so far. Old Widow Connolly has got a piece of land, a house, and a cow, to all of which Kate would be heiress if she retained her favour; and the prospect of this "fortune," together with the glory of saving the girl from an alliance with Protestantism and Orangeism, has been sufficient to procure Kate a most persevering suitor, a very dissimilar one to John Tennisson-a Roman Catholic, and generally believed to be a Ribbonman, who is moreover one of the most disagreeable people I ever met, and to whom I am certain the grandmother never would give her support if she did not act under other influence.'

6

Oh! then the danger you apprehend proceeds from this man, I suppose?'

' Mr. Delany could hardly find his object furthered by any act of violence, and therefore from his attempts, personally, I think Tennisson would be probably safe; but another circumstance has just occurred, which I think may be made a cause of quarrel at least at this fair. Tennisson has just got a farm, with a very comfortable house upon it, which has not a little elated poor Kate in the prospect of being its mistress. Now this farm had long been sought after by one of Delany's chief friends, a man of very similar character, whose name is O'Toole ; Tennisson, either not knowing or not caring for his wishes respecting it, applied also for the farm, and, as is natural to suppose, got the preference. Every day's report bears sad witness of the malignant spirit excited by such matters, even among those who are not still more exasperated by the workings of party feeling or previous animosity; and it was on account of the enmity and envy, both of which have recently been excited against this young man by this procedure of his, in addition to other offences, that I reprobated so strongly the project on which Kate's mind was bent, that they should both go to the fair that is to be held to-morrow, nearly fifteen miles from this, to make purchases for their new abode. I represented to them both what might be the consequences; but Kate assures me, and indeed John joins himself in the assertion, that both Delany and O'Toole are become quite friendly, and intend joining the party. This seeming friendship I distrust, and their being in company only strengthens my fear that they will contrive to draw him into a quarrel, or perhaps a fight; you know what a party fight is. I fear it is only done through vanity and a desire of

pleasure, and that they may lament it. Were they more influenced by real religion, instead of being interested merely in its outward profession, I think they could find it possible to make their purchases elsewhere. As it is, as I never wish to stretch my prerogative, I have only given them my sentiments and advice, and if they still wished to persevere. I left them to do so.'

'Oh, dear papa, you must not be so uneasy about John; I hope nothing will happen. And Kate did want so many things, she has begged me to go down to the house the day after to-morrow, to see all her preparations for housekeeping.' And saying this, Nanny rose and asked me to walk.

The next morning, seated on a low-back car-do my English readers know what that is? It is a vehicle which I cannot well describe, not being accustomed to such descriptions, except as a combination of planks forming almost a plane, with the exception of a slight ascent at the upper part between the shafts, and mounted on two low heavy wheels, and without sides or rests for the feet: on this, on state occasions, a bed of feathers, or of chaff, as the case may be, is placed, covered over with a fine patchwork quilt, and the women sit upon it in all directions, round the side, at the foot, and gathered up in the middle, which is the portion selected by the merriest of the party. The driver, usually a boy, either sits on the horse's back, with his feet on the shaft, or on the shaft itself. You do not often see men on these cars, they generally attend them on foot, with their long heavy frieze coats drawn under one arm. Such a party there set off from the neighbourhood of the glebe; except that it is necessary to

record that John Tennisson did not wear his long frieze coat; that would not be at all suited to his position in society and present circumstances: he wore a blue coat with bright yellow buttons, and a waistcoat almost as bright and as yellow; he walked behind the car with two of as ill-countenanced men as I ever saw. Nanny and I had had a very early walk, and at about six o'clock looked down from a high bank upon the party; Kate Connolly, who was seated on the car very gaily dressed, looked up and smiled, and the men touched their hats.

The rector was so engaged that day, in consequence of the absence of his right hand man, that we never saw him after an earlier breakfast than usual. Nanny took me out on a long visit to a clerical family at a distance; and on our return in the evening, we found the rector had brought home a young gentleman whom he had met, a student from Oxford, for whom he claimed his daughter's hospitality for some days.

The next morning Nanny was called from the breakfast-room as soon as she made her appearance; and on returning she held her hands between her face and her father, saying in a most rueful tone, 'Oh, poor papa, what will become of you!'

'What is the matter child?'

'Why, as John did not come this morning, George very considerately sent down to widow Connolly's, to ask if they had come back, and Kate sent word, that before she left the fair he had heard that his new landlord was staying at a place about six miles from it, and so he sent her home, and went on there to see him, and desired her to say, that if he was too late he would sleep at the place he was going to, and